Ass-Kicking Pose: Wrestlers used to just laugh at or ignore Santino's bend wrist elbow in palm pose until he dropped William Regal with the cobra. Since then, wrestlers have rightly feared it.

The Artifact: Marella's judo background was a staple of his early pro wrestling days, when he wrestled in Battlarts and later as a shootfighter in OVW, but although it became less and less apparent as his WWE career went on, it still occasionally manifested as an arm flip or quick shoulder throw in his most technical matches.

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Big Ol' Unibrow: It started out minor and a sign of evil when he turned heel but started letting it grow out while he dated Maria, making it comedic.

Boisterous Bruiser: During his second run as intercontinental champion is where he really picked up these tendencies and kept them up until his prolonged feud with Sheamus, whom Santino became afraid of.

On the September 3, 2007 Raw, he was cutting a promo when ECW's "Hardcore Icon" The Sandman came down to the ring. Santino said, "Oh my God, you're jealous because I make-a love to beautiful Maria and you (in re: Sandman's Singapore Cane) ... you make-a love to your stick!," and Sandman hit him over the head with the cane.

On the October 22 and October 29, 2007 episodes of Raw, he actually cut promos mocking "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN and his movie The Condemned. Austin showed up on the November 5th show, and after correcting Santino's mangling of Austin's CatchPhrases, Santino said that he couldn't put himself through watching the movie again. Of course, Austin stunned him, then gave him one hell of a beer bath.

The Chew Toy: Even when things go right for Santino, they often don't go right enough not to end up being very painful for him. Such as his girlfriend Emma. He loved her but she had a tendency to (accidentally) hurt him.

Chick Magnet: Has a different valet/Implied Love Interest every couple of years, it seems. First Maria Kanellis, then Beth Phoenix, then Tamina Snuka, and then Emma.

"On April 10th there's going to be a 25 Diva Battle Royal to determine who will be crowned Miss WrestleMania. I tink I know who's going to be the winner... Santino Marella! You see last week, when Mickie James assault me, I went to Vickie Guerrero an I demanded to be included. Why should I not be included, because of my genitalia? That's sexual discrimination! So I was told if I beat Mickie James with one hand tied behind my back I will have the opportunity to prove that I am man enough to be Miss WrestleMania!"

Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may act like an idiot, but he's actually surprisingly skilled in the ring when the WWE actually lets him loose. In a real life sense, he is a trained amateur wrestler, judoka and mixed martial artist with a supposed 6-1 record, so nobody should allow himself to be deceived by his comedy gimmick (in fact, his first gimmick ever back in OVW was a martial artist).

Dumbass Has a Point: Santino may have been a sideshow joke of an intercontinental champion, but he did have a point about how important the title should be versus how WWE treated it.

"You see, Goldilocks is merely champion of one country, the Nited States. Santino Marella is the champion of all the landmasses that protrude above the sea level, also known as continents. Which means Santino Marella is the champion of PLANET EARTH!"

Early Installment Weirdness: Had a Russian martial artist gimmick in OVW as Boris Alexiev. Even in WWE he started out as a much more serious character, known for feuding with Umaga; his comedy heel turn came about because people did not buy it.

I Know Karate: In a straighter example than many others, Boris Alexiev boasted in promos of being trained in "judo, sambo, wrestling and kickboxing," and he wasn't afraid of showing it on the ring. In real life, Carelli is really a Judo black belt, a seasoned amateur wrestler and a Mixed Martial Arts trainer.

Joke Character: After losing the intercontinental championship back to Umaga, this was largely Santino's fate, even when he won the intercontinental title again and set out to break The Honky Tonk Man's record...no especially when he set out to break that record.

Lethal Joke Character: That being said, he still managed some impressive wins under his belt, especially turning what looked to be a Squash Match against Tensai around by body slamming a man at least twice his size and then dodging an attempted diving splash to pin Tensai while he was stunned from the impact.

Lethal Joke Item: The Cobra. It seems like a goofy Shout-Out to Mr. Socko, but if Santino hits you with it then nine times out of ten you're going down for the three count. The fact that it's a jab at the throat probably helps.

Malaproper: It is not just names he gets wrong. Santino also bungles basic phrases. "Are you angered at him?"

His "International Superstars" tag team with Carlito Colón, the two really not having much in common, with Carlito emphasizing a need to keep cool and Marella being anything but.

His following team with Vladimir Kozlov is another odd friendship, being one guy a dead serious Russian shooter and other a crazy Italian loser. Actually not as odd as you could think, in a sort of meta sense: both Kozlov and Marella are real life martial artists, and Marella's first wrestling character was a Russian fighter.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: In a battle royale event, after saving himself from being eliminated by Triple H and John Cena, he attempts to clothesline them both...resulting in his immediate fall to the floor. After he gets back up, he decides the best course of action is to grab himself by the collar & waistband, and eliminate himself. The in-ring action stops for nearly a minute as everyone is too busy either laughing, or trying to figure out if that actually just happened.

His old gimmick, Boris Alexiev is possibly one to Boris Malenko, Dean Malenko's father who was also portrayed as Russian and was a trainer for guys involved in the shoot style wrestling promotions in Japan that Carelli once wrestled for as Joe Basko.

Stay in the Kitchen: What Santino devolved into during his feud with Maria Kanellis, blaming the presence of WWE divas on him not being a part of the Money In The Bank Ladder match and telling them all to go home.

Melina: Santino, when was the last time you wrestled at WrestleMania? You escorted ME to the ring!

Theatrics of Pain: Part of the reason some fans consider Santino too much of a joke to hold the US Championship even after he's shown his wrestling ability is because he convincingly sells every single piece of damage he receives during a match, for the rest of the match, which is something basically nobody in the WWE roster does anymore, making him seem weaker than everyone else.

Took a Level in Badass: Right around when he teamed with Kozlov. Then in February '12, he wins the Battle Royal to get Randy Orton's spot for Elimination Chamber, gets down to the last two wrestlers in the Smackdown Chamber (The other being Daniel Bryan) and weeks later wins the US Championship against Jack Swagger.

Wedgie: Gave one to Ricardo Rodriguez before eliminating him from the 2012 Royal Rumble.

Worked Shoot: He challenged Jim Cornette on a radio show after Cornette had been released by WWE for slapping him and Santino had been called up to the Raw roster. note Both elements were key, because WWE, showing a tremendous amount of foresight, "released" Cornette even though he was still the owner of their developmental league OVW, so as long Santino was still in developmental this measure did absolutely nothing to keep Cornette from slapping him again if he so felt like it. All it really did was allow their developmental company to expand its services to others, which it eventually did. No one really bought it, Jim Cornette being an old man whose slap probably did not even hurt him and whom no one would applaud Santino for actually fighting. It was more likely in response to the constant Take Thats that TNA, who Cornette went to work for, gave WWE.

Villain Has a Point: Despite being an obnoxious heel at the time, his frequent Take Thats against The Condemned during 2007 were actually quite merited, given the film's largely negative reception among critics. It helped that he sang an absolutely hilarious Villain Songnote (actually a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" with altered lyrics) regarding it, too.

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Santino Marella

Out of dissatisfaction with Ricardo Rodriguez's "introductioning" of his boss, Alberto Del Rio, Santino calls out his poor rolling of his Rs.